New London — At the age of 12, while staying with his grandparents in Philadelphia, James Clapper stuck a toothpick in the television dial to pick up the signal between channels four and five.

After a couple of minutes, he figured out he was listening in on the Philadelphia Police Department dispatcher.

"So I guess that's an early version of hacking my grandparents' TV set," Clapper, 75, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said, describing his initial interest in intelligence during a leadership address at the Coast Guard Academy Tuesday night.